Passing of a Giant

Onetime Harrisburg Giants right fielder Rap Dixon passes away 80 years ago today in Detroit. He is only 41 years old.

Dixon’s passing in 1944 comes 14 years after he becomes the first Black player to homer in Yankee Stadium.

Dixon, then playing for the 1930 Baltimore Black Sox, actually homers three times during a doubleheader against the New York Lincoln Giants as all-Black teams finally are allowed to play at the previous Whites-only House That Ruth Built.

Dixon, who stars for the all-Black Harrisburg Giants from 1922-27, spends 15 seasons with eight teams in the Negro Leagues, batting .300 or better in eight of those seasons.

Dixon, who is buried in Steelton, Pa., is among the 39 candidates on a special Hall of Fame ballot in 2006 for Negro Leaguers and their predecessors.

Alas for Dixon, he does not make the final cut, which includes onetime Harrisburg Ponies infielder Frank Grant and former Harrisburg Giants teammate Ben Taylor.